Meister der Farbe » runners. If just one of Kenyas athletes fai

WIMBLEDON -- British qualifier Marcus Willis went to sleep Tuesday night knowing he would play Roger Federer on Centre Court and thinking it just doesnt get any better than this.Then it did.Spitting rain caused officials to close the stadiums roof Wednesday morning, transforming Centre Court into a luminous, shimmering soap bubble in which serves and forehands echo like cannon fire in a Thunderdome.The indoor atmosphere helped Willis, who has a big serve. His riveting backstory made the crowd love him way beyond the mere fact of his being British. Even Federer loved Willis story, but that only helped to a point. Federer ultimately burst the teaching pros bubble with an entertaining 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 win that left everyone satisfied and feeling good about themselves.Given all the British have been through in recent days -- what with Brexit and the shocking beating the English soccer team suffered at the hands of Iceland -- that was quite an achievement. Credit Willis with a huge assist to Federer.When you win 17 Grand Slam tournaments, you get a feeling for special moments.As I was playing, I was thinking, This is definitely one of the matches Ill remember. Federer said. I start forgetting some, but this one will stand out because its that special -- and probably not going to happen again for me to play against a guy 770 [officially No. 772] in the world.Federer didnt begrudge a single hopeful voice raised in the underdogs cause.Im sure I got less support probably back in 1999 when I got the wild card on Court 8, lost in five sets, because nobody cared, Federer said. But Willis deserved more. He deserved more in the bigger moments. He played some great points. He fought hard. Great personality for a Centre Court like this.Willis is a roguish, self-deprecating 25-year-old who lives with his parents. (Living the life, he quipped the other day.) A droll, dont-worry-be-happy kind of guy, he was a promising junior who delivered mostly trouble and a poor attitude. On one occasion, it got him sent home early from a trip to Australia.He ultimately decided that training was too draining. He planned to migrate to Philadelphia, but then he met his current girlfriend, who convinced him to stay.When told his story sounds like the plot of the rom-com movie Wimbledon Willis said, Ive never seen it, really. Im not a massive film-watcher. Im quite fidgety.A few weeks ago, working a job at the Warwick Boat Club in Warwickshire earning about 40 bucks an hour, Willis founds out he was accepted as the last man into Wimbledon pre-qualifying. Seven matches later, he was looking across the net at the all-time mens Grand Slam singles champion. He described the experience as surreal.I did look up twice as I bounced the ball and saw Roger Federer, and thought, Oh, havent seen this before, Willis said.Willis says his own tennis ruination was partly because of his weakness for seeing off too many pints.But Willis got religious after wasting a few good years, and he showed enough class here to feel hopeful for the future.Against Federer, the first set was an education. For a journeyman, playing against the Swiss maestro is like having to watch a movie in fast forward.He makes you feel like youve got no time, Willis said. He puts a lot of balls on the court in big points. You cant leave the ball anywhere short or high. Its just gone. Hes just ridiculous.Once Willis shed his jitters and adjusted, though, his heavy serve and duplicitous lefty spins and dinks served him pretty well.He has a nice serve, Federer said. I struggled reading it, especially on the ad side. He was doing a great job of mixing that up. I believe he can make big strides. But then again, dont forget the challengers are brutal; so are the futures. When he gets stuck between 200 and 500, 600, 700, its a big step getting out of that.Such realistic concerns are best left for another time. On this gloomy day at Wimbledon, reformed slouch Marcus Willis brought a little magic into the life of everyone, including Roger Federer.And how many people can make that claim?Bill Mazeroski Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Mitch Keller Jersey . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/1562e-kyle-crick-jersey-pirates.html . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Jim Bibby Jersey . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Adam Frazier Jersey . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach.Never before have Kenyas fabulously successful runners gone to the Olympics in such a negative light.Kenya has a doping problem, no doubt, but seemingly not on the same scale as Russia . Theres no indication that the East African country has a state-sponsored conspiracy to hide cheating.While Russias anti-doping program appears corrupt -- leading to a ban for its track and field team and a narrowly-avoided blanket ban for all Russian competitors from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics -- Kenyas drug-testing program is best described as inept.That doesnt mean there arent serious issues and allegations in Kenya. The countrys track team goes to Rio -- there was a moment when it also might have been thrown out -- with its reputation at stake.The Kenyan doping mess explained:---THE PROBLEMS: -- At least 40 Kenyan track and field athletes have failed doping tests and been banned since the 2012 Olympics in London.Four senior officials at the Kenyan track federation, including the top two, have been suspended by the IAAF -- track and fields international governing body -- after being accused of trying to corrupt the anti-doping process.Its almost three months since Kenyas entire drug-testing program was declared non-compliant and suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency because of problems with how its run.Seven men -- five Kenyans, an Italian coach and an Italian agent -- are facing criminal charges in two separate cases in Kenya related to allegations of supplying and administering banned substances to runners.---THE CONTEXT: -- Although 40 doping cases in four years is a significant number, the vast majority so far have been lower-level runners who havent won major titles. There are a couple of exceptions: Marathon champion Rita Jeptoo and two-time cross-country world champion Emily Chebet are among those banned.Kenyan authorities promised extensive testing of their Olympic athletes to show that the stars -- such as 800-meter world-record holder David Rudisha -- are clean. In the last few weeks, the sports minister said, around 400 tests were conducted on Kenyas full Olympic team of just over 100 athletes.The Kenyan track federation president, vice president, the former track team manager and federation chief executive are all being investigated by the IAAF over allegations they sought to hide positive doping tests or arrange lenient bans while seeking bribes from the athletes involved. Unlike Russia, the antii-doping agency and government departments havent also been implicated.ddddddddddddhile Kenyas anti-doping program is currently declared non-compliant by WADA, so is Spains. Non-compliance doesnt immediately mean a country should be banned from competition. It does mean that the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya wasnt able to do tests in the run-up to the Olympics, leaving it to one of WADAs regional bodies to do so.The court cases involving Kenyan men accused of supplying banned substances to athletes appear to be getting to the heart of Kenyas problem. Allegations were made as far back as 2012 that people were selling banned substances to athletes in remote training bases. Kenyan police and anti-doping authorities have clearly been slow in shutting that drug supply line down.---WHAT SPORTS AUTHORITIES HAVE DONE: -- WADA described Kenyas anti-doping regulations as a complete mess when it declared the country non-compliant in May, but WADA doesnt have the power to ban Kenyas track and field team from international competitions.That falls to the IAAF and, in the case of the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee. The IAAF stopped short of throwing out Kenya, but placed the country on a doping monitoring list until the end of the year. If there arent significant improvements, the IAAF could decide on sterner punishment.In June, the IOC told international sports federations to test individual athletes in Kenya to make sure they are clean before Rio.---REPUTATION AT STAKE: -- Kenyas sporting pride revolves around its world-beating distance runners. If just one of Kenyas athletes fails a drug test at the Rio Olympics, then all of them -- maybe unfairly -- are going to be under suspicion. Itll also probably revive the question of why Kenyas track team was given the benefit of the doubt and allowed to go to the Olympics.Kenyas javelin world champion Julius Yego said the scrutiny is going to be severe: Everybody will be looking at the Kenyans and all sorts of bad things will be mentioned about Kenya.Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta repeatedly warned the athletes against doping when he addressed the Olympic team last week.Show them we can win clean. Even if we dont win, show them we can play clean, Kenyatta said.---Follow Gerald Imray on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP ' ' '